


take a chance (it lasts forever)

by fonulyn



Category: Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse)
Genre: Cuddles, Established Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Matchmaker Chris, Piers Nivans Lives, Piers is alive and happy and healthy, chris is the best friend, friendships, just fluff, self-indulgent nonsense tbh, tiny hints of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:01:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21637063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fonulyn/pseuds/fonulyn
Summary: Chris thinks his friends would be really good together. So he sets out to make that happen.
Relationships: Leon S. Kennedy/Piers Nivans
Comments: 12
Kudos: 55





	take a chance (it lasts forever)

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [a prompt I got on tumblr](https://fonulyn.tumblr.com/post/189418684434/if-youre-still-taking-writing-prompts-could-we). Thank you _so much_ to whoever sent the prompt to me, it was so much fun to write and I really, really had to restrict myself so that it wouldn't turn out ten times as long as it did. 
> 
> It's basically random fluffy nonsense, but I had fun, and I hope someone else might find enjoyment in it too! :3 (Watch me go down with this friggin' rowboat of a ship.)
> 
> Also thanks to Tatsu for the help❤

The music was loud around them, even in the darkest back table in the corner, and there were barely any free seats in the entire bar unless one counted the few chairs their teammates had vacated just a moment earlier. Everyone else was either having fun with their significant other or trying to find someone to spend the night with, which left Chris sitting at the table with Piers, as usual. 

They sat there in silence, Piers was just idly toying with his glass and didn’t look like he had any intention in joining the fun. For a second Chris frowned at that, before finally making up his mind. “So, Piers.”

The mention of his name made Piers look up quickly, his eyebrows rising questioningly as he met Chris’ gaze. That was all the acknowledgement that Chris needed, before he went on, trying to choose his words carefully. “Look, I know it’s not my place to meddle in your affairs. But I’m worried about you.”

“Worried?” Piers echoed, genuinely confused.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed,” Chris started, more sternly than he meant to and quickly he softened his voice, tried to put real effort into being supportive and understanding. That was his whole point, he wasn’t here to dictate how Piers should live his life, he just wanted to give him a little push in what was hopefully the right direction. “Whenever we go out you’re never putting yourself out there. It’s like you’re determined to stay alone. And this has been going on for _months_.”

A strange expression ghosted over Piers’ face, but then he settled back to neutral confusion. “I’m okay, you don’t need to–”

“You’re lonely,” Chris cut in, firm but friendly. “And there’s no reason for you to be.” It made Chris’ heart constrict in his chest, as all he wanted was happiness for his friend. And it wasn’t only Piers he was thinking about. His situation mirrored another friend’s almost eerily, and after a lot of careful consideration and contemplation, Chris had decided he could get two birds with one stone if he played his cards right. “I have a friend who would be exactly your type. Let me set you up with him.”

That now made Piers’ eyes widen in surprise again, and he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times as he searched for words. None came, at least not quickly enough, as Chris was speaking again. “You’ve met him, and I think you got along well enough, but I think it’d be really worth it if you got to know him better! I could fix you up with a blind date so you’d see for yourself.”

“Chris, really, I don’t–” 

“Don’t try to bullshit me with that whole ‘I’m fine alone’ crap. I know you’re not,” Chris huffed. “I’m not trying to set you up with any creep, I promise. I mean L– _he’s_ a bit older than you, sure, but he’s great! He’s funny and good looking and really smart, and I think he’d like you a lot.” 

Inwardly Chris congratulated himself for catching himself on time. He’d almost slipped Leon’s name out right there, but he had his reasons for not telling Piers who exactly it was he was trying to fix him up with. He had a feeling that things would go a lot smoother without any pre-existing expectations or attitudes, and he just wanted the two to give it a chance. 

They honestly seemed to have a lot in common. They had both loved and lost, gotten hurt, and after that simply refused to even try again. They were stubborn, steadfastly loyal, kindhearted and too smart for their own good. Even the differences were something that could end up in a good balance. Leon could even out Piers’ quick temper, and Piers was good with people, he could probably learn to handle even the worst of Leon’s moods. They seemed like they’d be evenly matched, and to Chris there were only positives about it.

Besides, he wasn’t trying to marry them off to one another. If they’d try one date and hate each other then _fine_ , Chris could mark it in the ‘tried but failed, moving on’ column and at least know there were no regrets. “Seriously, Piers. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I know you’ve been hurt before,” he tried, gently. 

Piers looked away, refusing to look at Chris and instead stared at his half-finished drink. 

So Chris went on. “You deserve to be happy. Give it a chance. I know that with our jobs it’s hard to find anyone who’d get it, and that’s just one more thing in the plus-column. This guy would. He knows exactly how this is, what we deal with. He works for the government and he’s seen pretty much all there is to see when it comes to all this crap.”

Maybe curiosity got the best of him, but whatever it was Piers glanced up, tilting his head a little. “Why aren’t you telling me who it is? If I’ve met them and all?”

Chris shrugged. “Because you should go into it without reservations. And I don’t want you to talk yourself out of it before you’ve even tried.”

Piers nodded slowly, like the explanation made sense to him. The brief victorious feeling evaporated fast, though, as Chris noticed that Piers still wasn’t entirely convinced. As expected, after a while Piers knocked back his drink, before shaking his head. “I don’t know, Chris. I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m fine. Really. I don’t need any matchmaking help.”

“Just think about it, at least?” Chris pleaded, not ready to give up entirely. “Please?”

For a second Piers looked at him. “Fine. I’ll think about it.”

*

Somehow the words Chris had said stayed with Piers for weeks, even if not for the reasons Chris would’ve assumed they would. Piers had been honest when he’d said he didn’t need any matchmaking help, and he had meant it when he’d said he was fine. Seriously, he was more than just _fine_ , for the first time in years he was genuinely happy and looking hopefully into the future.

What did get to him was how worried Chris had seemed to be about him, and he felt guilty about that. He should’ve told Chris that he wasn’t a sad and lonely recluse but that he was in a happy, steady relationship and had been for months. It wasn’t fair that Chris was so desperate to help that he was already suggesting blind dates of all things, completely unaware of how things really were. 

Piers tried to sleep, he really did, but the guilt kept gnawing at him and sleep eluded him. Suddenly a hand was placed firmly in the middle of his chest, holding him still. “Can’t sleep?” Leon asked, amusement dancing in his tone. “You’ve been tossing and turning for like an hour.”

“Sorry,” Piers sighed, immediately trying to will himself to stay as still as he possibly could. He was blinking up at the ceiling, even if in the darkness of the room he barely saw around himself. That was until Leon sighed and shifted, reaching out to flick the bedside lamp on. 

Leon settled back down, before pushing a hand under Piers’ shoulder to urge him to move. “Come here.” Obediently Piers rolled over, threw an arm around Leon’s middle and rested his head on his shoulder. It was nice, being held like this, and he could already feel some of the tension seep off him. “Wanna tell me what’s wrong?” Leon murmured after a moment, breath brushing over Piers’ temple. 

“Chris is trying to hook me up with some friend of his,” Piers admitted silently. “He’s being really persistent, too.” He sighed. “And I feel bad for making him worry about me, you know? He thinks I’m really lonely and he just wants to help.” With some effort, he lifted himself up just enough to catch Leon’s eyes with his own. “Maybe we should tell him? If that’s okay with you?” When they’d first gotten together they’d agreed to see where it’d go before telling anyone, but it had been long enough already, and Piers at least was more than ready to be open about everything. 

“Sure.” Leon smiled, and a weight lifted off Piers’ chest immediately, relief washing through him. “I’m kinda fond of you,” he went on, the smile widening, and brushed his fingers over the back of Piers’ head. “So why not tell everyone you’re off the market.”

Wordlessly Piers surged forward for a kiss, smiling into it as he just couldn’t stop himself. There were goddamn butterflies dancing in his chest, and he couldn’t even bring himself to feel embarrassed about how far he’d fallen. “Thank you,” he practically only breathed out as they parted, “maybe Chris’ll finally shut up about the hot older government worker, who’s all kinds of perfect for me.”

“Wait, what?” Leon’s eyes widened in surprise and he looked baffled for a second, like he was piecing things together in his mind, but then suddenly he burst out laughing. “Oh my _god_!” he snickered. “ _You’re_ the one he’s been trying to sell me for _weeks_!”

It was Piers’ turn to be surprised. “What?”

“Oh, Leon,” Leon took on his best Chris-impression. Which was kind of bad, but got the point across anyway. “I have this friend who would be _exactly_ your type! He’s a bit younger than you but trust me, it’s not going to be an issue. He’s great, you’d totally think he’s funny and he’s really sharp too, he’s the best we have! And I think you would really get along! I can set you up for a blind date!”

Piers stared at Leon for a while, before his mind finally caught up. “He’s been trying to set us up? Together? Like, you and me?” He couldn’t even believe it, it was so ridiculous, but at the same time it made a frightening amount of sense. Leon _was_ an older government worker, he did know how it was in this war on bioterror, and he was decidedly as gorgeous and witty as Chris had tried to paint him to be. 

Then Piers realized what Leon had been quoting, and he couldn’t help but ask “He… said all that? About me?” So maybe he had gotten over the damn near hero worship he’d first felt for the captain, but he still respected Chris a ton and valued his opinion. So hearing that made him feel like a little kid when his father had praised something he’d done, utterly and entirely pleased. 

“In essence, yeah.” Leon nodded, laughing. His expression softened into something a lot more fond then, affection clear in his voice. “He thinks really highly of you. You should know that. And he’s not the only one, pretty much everyone who has ever worked with you respects you.”

Now the compliments made a stubborn blush force its way over Piers’ cheeks, and despite his best efforts he couldn’t stop smiling. “Says the one who has more fans than an average rockstar…”

Leon chuckled. “Don’t exaggerate.” He was idly drawing patterns onto Piers’ back with his fingertips, and after a brief silent pause he spoke up again. “So, wanna have some fun with this?”

“Sure,” Piers agreed, “What do you have in mind?”

“Tell Chris you want to meet that mystery guy he’s been talking about. And I’ll do the same.”

*

“Stop worrying,” Chris huffed at Leon, placing a palm onto his shoulder in a calming gesture. “He’s going to be here any second now. You’ve got nothing to worry about, trust me.” He was all earnest and supportive, had even gotten Leon a beer for calming his nerves the moment they got into the bar where they were supposed to be meeting up the ‘mystery person’.

If things were different, Leon thought that he would’ve been really happy to have a wingman like Chris. At least he was doing his very best with everything. So much that Leon almost felt bad for the way they were going to trick him. Only almost, though. “I do,” he answered truthfully, “trust you.”

He was going to say more, but then he spotted a familiar figure across the room, approaching them. Immediately he was smiling, drinking in the sight, and as soon as Piers noticed him the smile was answered. 

“Oh hey, darlin’.”

They weren’t really ones to use a lot of petnames but sometimes Piers dropped one of them, casually and without warning, and somehow Leon had grown to enjoy that. Even now it sent a splash of warmth through him, his heart stupidly skipping a little. “Hey,” he greeted, not even trying to hide the affection in his voice. 

They’d planned this differently, had wanted to make Chris wait for a while before finding out the truth, but suddenly Leon couldn’t bring himself to wait any longer. They hadn’t seen all week, and so he gave in to the urge and reached out, grabbing Piers’ shirt in his fist to yank him in. The kiss that followed was decidedly not chaste, not something two people who barely knew one another would greet each other with. But he indulged in it anyway, smiled into it when he felt Piers’ arms curl around him. 

“I missed you,” Leon breathed out as they finally pulled apart. “You forgot your phone charger at my place last time. Might want to come over to pick it up.”

“How about tonight?” Piers asked, voice hoarse. “I have a date but after that I think I’m free.” That drew chuckles from them both, and for a second more they reveled in the moment, in the closeness they’d been missing for days. Only then they remembered they weren’t alone and in unison they turned to look at Chris, who was watching them silently. 

As soon as attention was on him Chris arched an eyebrow, pursing his lips disapprovingly. “Are you messing with me?” he asked. “You figured out I was trying to set you up together and wanted to make fun of me, right?” Defensively he crossed his arms over his chest. “I still stand by my assessment. You should have that date.”

Leon couldn’t help but laugh, the sound startling out of him as he realized what Chris meant. He really thought they were acting this just to embarrass him? Making things up for a joke? Quickly Leon shook his head, leaning a little closer against Piers, who was still holding his arm around him. “No, Chris, you don’t get it. We’ve had that date. Several of those, actually.”

Apparently Piers had caught up as well, as he grinned brightly, casting an affectionate glance towards Leon. “You can still take the credit, Captain,” he addressed Chris, turning to look at him, “it’s not like we would’ve met if it wasn’t for you.”

For a second still Chris looked doubtful, like he wasn’t exactly buying into this. Then he looked at the way the two were standing together, obviously comfortable being so close, naturally occupying each other’s space in a way that had nothing forced to it. “How long has this been going on?” he asked at length, forehead still scrunched into a frown. 

“Since June,” Leon grimaced apologetically. It had been quite a while. “Sorry. I should’ve told you sooner. We just…” he trailed off, shrugging a little. 

Thankfully Piers took that as a hint and finished the sentence for him. “We wanted to see if anything would come of it before telling anyone. If it helps,” he added almost hastily, “you’re still the first one to find out.”

“Yeah, find out that my best friend and my closest coworker have been lying to my face for _months_?” Chris growled. He could only keep up the act for a few seconds though, before his face split into a grin and he chuckled, shaking his head disbelievingly. “Good job, guys. Good job. I’m not always this oblivious.”

“Depends,” Leon shrugged a little, “it took you a year to realize Claire was dating. She even wore an engagement ring.”

“Do not bring my past mistakes to the table,” Chris warned, raising a finger at his friend. “You owe me a drink. Or two. Let’s see how many it takes for me to forget this heinous betrayal.” He was in clearly good spirits, though, fooling absolutely no one with his rough act. He even reached out to clap Piers on the shoulder, grinning at him. “He’s your problem now. Good luck with that. Give it your best.”

Leon spluttered, but didn’t get the chance to reply anything, not before Piers beat him to it with a genuinely cheerful “Yes, sir!”

**Author's Note:**

> You're still welcome to [send me prompts](https://fonulyn.tumblr.com/post/189155053369/anyone-want-to-send-me-writing-prompts-you-can) if you so wish. I might take forever to finish them but oh well :'D


End file.
